Bittersweet Nothings
by Shade Mimir
Summary: Riku has gone missing and Roxas is fading. Were the Nobodies truly absorbed back into darkness or is there more to the darkness itself than first meets the eye? Yaoi SoraxRiku RoxasxAxel Spoilers!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I finished Kingdom Hearts II a while back and though I quite enjoyed it, I felt the Nobodies got a bum deal. I also could notice the unbelievable amount of untapped yaoi, just ripe for the writing. I'm trying to keep my chapters relatively short, as people tend to complain about the length of my writing at times. Of course, reviews will determine if I continue this fic at all. Otherwise it goes on the backburner and I get back to FFVIII and Harry Potter fandoms…Not that I won't continue it _eventually. _Something of a demand would just speed things up. It doesn't take that much time and energy to review and I don't know how you feel unless you tell me. Make an effort.

Bittersweet Nothings 

By Shade

_We've said this all before, your shadow's at the door,_

_There's darkness in the hall and we won't take the fall._

_Don't you tell me, what you think is right,_

_When you're living in the shadows._

_I can tell that, you have lost your sight,_

_When you're living in the shadows._

_-Billy Talent "Living in the Shadows"_

The darkness embraced Riku like an old friend and his body shivered with relief. He felt night's loving touch manage to sate his nervousness, calm him enough to be able to relax. It was wonderful to, at last, be able to lie down on his bed. Keeping up a charade such as this was tiring and far too taxing on his body. Riku couldn't help but fear that this was becoming more and more evident as time wore on. His friends couldn't be that oblivious, could they? He hoped for both of their sakes, that this was just the case.

It hadn't been wise to come home. Sora had been too naive to see the truth and Riku had been too eager to return to the island to question him. Now he felt like such a fool. Normalcy after the events surrounding the time Riku had spent away from his friends was just too much to hope for.

_Then go back._

"Shut up," Riku groaned, squirming onto his side. He pressed his pillow over his head. -As if anything would block out that voice. He knew exactly where it was coming from and that there was little he could do to silence it.

"Riku?"

_That_ voice had come from Riku's left, cutting through the darkness as efficiently as any light ever could. Riku flinched. Sora had missed him. He supposed he had to believe that. Of course, Sora had _other_ friends. He had done well enough without Riku. After a year, perhaps less, he would be forgotten. To be forgotten, to never be found, that was what Riku had wanted to begin with. Who would remember him after everyone had moved on.

_No one._

Riku groaned, pressing the pillow down harder, until it was almost difficult to breathe "Shut up."

"What?"

Riku winced. There it was again. "Leave me alone!" He snapped at the window, sure his voice was muffled at the moment.

Sora didn't seem keen on giving up this easily. Riku could hear him at the window "But-"

Riku would have to be more convincing than that "I'm tired Sora. Let me sleep."

"Kairi and I have some fireworks. We thought-"

"Just leave me alone!" Riku gave the wall a kick in his frustration.

Startled, Sora stepped back. The slight brunette standing at the window gave one last look through the glass. He extended a hand, tracing his fingertips lightly over the nails that held the wood in place there. Riku boarded up his window and expected him to think there was nothing wrong.

At first he had let it go. Riku had been kinder than usual at first. Slowly it seemed he had begun to revert back to his old self. This had disappointed Sora but, really, had been no surprise. Riku had always been a little cold and distant and Sora was simply too glad to have him back to care if he went back to that. But now…now this was getting out of hand…

Sora pulled away from the window reluctantly and turned to face the beach. In the distance he could just make out the shapes of his friends in the moonlight. Wakka threw a blitz ball as Tidus jogged backwards to catch it. Selphie and Kairi chatted together, standing barefoot in the tide as it began to roll in. Riku might have once complained about the dullness of nights like this. Perhaps, in the long run, this really was all rather boring. They would have another adventure someday, Sora was sure of that. But for now he was satisfied with quiet nights like these. He only wished Riku felt the same way.

"Hey!" Sora was snapped from his daze as Selphie called to him, waving her arms over her head to catch his attention. "Hey, Sora! Come on!"

With one last, hopeful, look to Riku's window, Sora headed toward the beach. Maybe Riku really was sleeping. He had spent so long in the darkness, perhaps closing off the windows just made him feel more comfortable. Regardless, he would have to wait until morning to speak with him.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Roxas felt like a prisoner. As a Nothing he had had no heart but being part of Sora made him feel as if he had no soul, no body of his own. Was that really a fair trade? From what he could see, Naminè didn't appear to mind, or at least never showed it outwardly. Then again, he hadn't seen Naminè lately. He could see what Sora saw, went where Sora went but these days, when he saw Kairi, that was all he saw. The idea of Naminè's absence made him uneasy. The possible reasons for it made him uneasier still.

Lately Roxas was feeling less and less like himself. Sora's thoughts were becoming his own, as were his feelings. It was almost as if he was fading away. What if Naminè had already faded? Was this truly the being "whole" that she had spoken of; to be assimilated? If so, he certainly didn't feel whole.

Once he had been his own person. Once he had had friends. He had eaten sea-salt ice cream with Pence and Olette and Hayner. They had done school reports together and talked about unsubstantial things. Life had been simple then, but it had been his own.

It was becoming more and more difficult to recall the details of those days past. At times he would find his mind lapsing, forgetting names and dates. He would miss weeks in their entirety, having a hard time clinging to those memories once he got them back.

He vaguely recalled that he had felt incomplete, even with his friends. There was something, someone from the past. There was someone that he had forgotten long ago. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't picture a face, much less the subtleties of this person's dress or a voice. He only remembered that he missed whoever it was. He missed them very much.

From the corner of his eye, Roxas caught a flash of light. It wasn't part of the myriad of colors bursting forth from the fireworks. This movement had been very distinct but he lost sight of it as the blur raced out of Sora's range of vision. Sora and the others seemed oblivious, their eyes fixed on the lights of the fireworks above.

Sora-, Roxas tried to reach out to his other half, to get him to look. His mind seemed to be elsewhere though. Roxas could barely communicate with Sora as it was. Any sort of conversation between them was often short and far in between. It seemed he simply didn't have the strength to reach out to Sora at all anymore. 

Luckily, the energy he was lacking came shortly. There was a crash as the blur of light landed. Again, there was no response from Sora and his friends and yet the energy from the crash rushed outward. Roxas caught a glimpse of crackling static-like energy before it swept over him like a wave. _SORA!_

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Sora's eyes rested, unfocused, upon the night sky. His thoughts still lingered upon Riku. He simply couldn't get his mind around all of the possibilities of what could have gone wrong. The pops and crackles of the fireworks overhead registered dimly, as did the gasps of delight from his friends.

He didn't notice the colors, not now. He could only watch the darkness, not even paying mind to the light of the moon or stars. What had it been like for Riku, alone for so long in the darkness?

_SORA!_

Sora felt his limbs seize. He was forced to look away from the fireworks overhead and, instead, along the shore.

_Sora! Did you see that?_

"Roxas?" Sora asked aloud, confused and slightly panicked at moving against his will like that. Sora could only imagine that he was receiving some odd looks from his friends, but he couldn't turn his head to check.

_Don't tell me you didn't feel it!_

"Fe-" Sora thought better of speaking aloud this time _Feel what?_

"Sora?" Kairi interrupted. Sora hadn't said much all night. Considering his usual cheerful demeanor, he was likely acting about as strange as Riku.

"Huh?" Sora managed to look back to his friends. Selphie and the others had turned to look at him when they had heard the concern in Kairi's voice. Though he knew his friends were worried, an explanation really could wait. "I'll-ah-I'll be right back."

Sora was thankful to find that he had control of his body again and he rushed away from his friends and up the beach. _Feel what? Roxas? Roxas!_

_At the other end of the beach-,_ The voice was a little fainter at first but grew in strength once Sora was sure to pay close attention. _Something came through the sky. It felt…kind of familiar…You didn't see it? _Thoughts echoed through Sora's head, but it wasn't particularly difficult to sort Roxas's out from his own.

"I didn't see anything," Sora said aloud, relieved to be alone. He skirted a palm tree to walk alongside the nearest rock-face "Where did it land?"

There was a pause at first, almost as if Roxas was thinking the question over. This didn't happen often, at least not anymore. It had been a long while since Sora had even felt the other's presence _I think it landed near the cave. The one with the door._

"With the door?" Sora repeated uneasily. He glanced back to the beach, where his friends had gone back to lighting fireworks. They cheered noisily as one whistled to its zenith before showering the sky with multicolored sparks.

_Look there!_

Sora whirled around, startled. Further along the beach there were only shadows. "What did you see?"

_I didn't see anything I just heard someth-there!_

Sora didn't have to look hard to spy a shape among the shadows. It appeared humanoid, but could clearly see a great deal better than Sora could at the moment. Whoever it was rushed through the darkness with ease, vanishing into the shadows completely as it neared the cave.

_Well, don't just stand there!_

Sora didn't have to be told twice. Out of instinct alone he took off at a run, not entirely sure of what or who he was chasing but set on catching him just the same. He hurtled across the island as quickly as he could. Though this island was his home, his eyes weren't quite as adjusted to the night as those of whoever he was pursing.

Surely history wasn't repeating itself. It was very unlikely that whoever he was pursing wasn't from the island or not simply a figment of his imagination. Of course, that didn't explain what Roxas had seen and this sudden numbing sensation sweeping through his limbs. He slowed down as he saw the mouth of the cave. There was energy there. He couldn't see it but he could definitely feel it sweeping through his body is sudden bursts and pulses.

Even Roxas didn't urge Sora on. It wasn't safe in there and both knew it. The dark-haired boy at the door crept closer and squinted his eyes against the darkness. There was no seeing who was inside, not without going in himself. For the time being, perhaps their pursuit should end here. Whatever they were pursing probably wasn't going anywhere…unless…Sora felt the energy grow stronger, now forming one perpetual flow. He took in a sharp breath. "No-" Without a second thought to the potential danger inside, Sora rushed forward.

XXxXxXxXxXxXx

Riku gasped, his entire body tensing as the energy swept through him. His eyes widened in shock and he sat up, looking around wildly. Surely that hadn't been…It couldn't be…

_Riku go, go now!_

The boy sitting in the darkness shook his head, backing up to the wall as he tried to sort through all this. In the meantime a second shockwave swept through the room and over his being. It burned through him like adrenaline, making it all the more difficult to ignore the urgings of that voice within him.

_I said go!_

Riku got to his feet rather shakily. This time he embraced the next wave of energy, using it to run from his bedroom and out the front door. His breath came in sharp gasps in the warm night air and he took a good look around. His attention was initially drawn to the fireworks being set off along the beach. From this distance it looked as if Sora was speaking with Kairi. Yes, they would certainly move on. He simply couldn't take this anymore. Even if his mind was willing, his body wasn't. "All right." He breathed, taking one last, long look at his friends before running for the caves, for the doorway that had just opened. Riku knew exactly where it led.


	2. Chapter 2

Bittersweet Nothings

By Shade

_Like a ghost - is the curtain  
In the white light of the morning –  
Dancing in the morning  
Are you there - are you there?  
And a shadow - like a sadness  
Falling all across the garden  
Dancing in the garden  
Are you there, are you there?_

Shine on, friend. Goodnight  
Why, then, the darkening of the light?

_- Concrete Blonde "Darkening of the Light"_

Riku stood with his back to the bench, facing out to the angry surf. Darkness ebbed and snaked around him. It looked as if he was in awe of it, completely enraptured by the shadows that threatened to consume his body.

"Riku!" Sora was sure he had shouted the name, but was unable to hear his own voice. Riku turned anyway. He didn't attempt to speak, instead extending his hand in a way that seemed all too familiar to Sora. The urge to join Riku in the darkness was difficult to deny but so were those first steps forward.

Sora stepped from the dry sand, into the lapping waves. He reached outward and accepted his friend's hand. The dark swept around them both completely but Sora found himself unable to be particularly worried. Riku was there and little else mattered. He wouldn't lose him, not again.

Suddenly the ground was no longer beneath Sora's feet. The wind picked up and without warning Sora found himself being ripped away, forced from Riku to be lost in the storm now raging around them. "Riku!" He shouted again though his voice was lost once more. Audible words appeared to be unnecessary. Riku gripped Sora's arms, pulling the smaller boy again his chest and holding him close.

Sora became calm once more. He clung to the front of Riku's vest, confident that nothing would pull them apart now. Riku's head was bowed against his shoulder and though Sora could neither see nor hear in such darkness, he knew that Riku was speaking to him. The other's words were slow and very soft. The words were tangible, they had substance and weight that Sora couldn't understand but rather felt.

Tears were in Sora's eyes as he nodded "I know." He spoke silently "…I…" He hesitated and felt Riku tense around him in anticipation. "I-" But Sora had no chance to finish what he had meant to say. The storm grew fiercer and the winds stronger. Suddenly he found himself ripped away from the silvery haired boy before him completely.

"Riku!" Sora cried out, becoming disoriented as he was pulled into a blackness that seemed to stretch on forever. "Riku!" His back connected with something very solid. The breath was effectively knocked out of Sora but his thoughts remained on what he had just lost "Riku!" Sora shouted again, sitting upright in bed.

Sora barely managed to catch his breath, which was still coming in ragged gasps. Relief set in as he realized what had just transpired had merely been a nightmare. Slowly he began to sort out his thoughts. The first thing that registered with the still shaken boy was that he didn't remember actually going to bed the night before. He vaguely remembered fireworks with Kairi and the others. Someone hadn't been there. Riku had been missing and- He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, standing in alarm and rushing to the window.

Sora had been following Riku without quite realizing it at first. Only once he had gotten to the cave had he recognized the shadowy figure heading for the door. It seemed that pursing further had done neither of them much good. Sora remembered nothing after rushing into the cave and outside the island looked no different. Perhaps it had all just been a dream. Sora supposed that was probable. To confirm his suspicions, he quietly went to the door and opened it just so. He found himself disappointed as he spotted Kairi and Selphie slumped down on the sofa, asleep. Had he been carried here?

Rushing back to his bedside, Sora slipped his shoes on. What had happened last night? If Sora had been carried back to his own bed maybe Riku was back at home as well. Always the optimist, Sora opened his window and leapt out onto the ground. He set off at a jog towards Riku's house, hopeful that he would find Riku in bed as well, Wakka, Tidus, and Zell waiting outside as the bedroom as the girls had been.

The front door was ajar. Sora fought against the sinking of his heart. That didn't mean anything. Riku was still inside, he just had to be. "Riku!" Sora called, not considering that he might be waking the boys if they had carried Riku home.

"Riku?" There was no response what-so-ever and Sora slowed his jog down to a slow, uneasy walk. It didn't sound as if anyone was home. The only noise present in Riku's home was the soft, hollow thud of the door as it got caught in an island breeze and tapped lightly at the side of the house.

There was a thin layer of dust over everything. No teenage boy was ever much of a housekeeper, but Riku had never been too sloppy either. This house didn't look in disarray so much as merely unlived in.

Deep down, Sora already knew what he would find when he pulled open Riku's bedroom door. The sheets were pulled back, one strewn across the floor. He was gone. Sora had lost him again. Grief pierced through Sora unmercifully quickly followed by a fierce wave of blame. There was no one to blame but himself. He had known something was wrong with Riku and yet had done nothing. It was true that Sora had spoken with Riku but clearly words weren't helpful in the least in a situation such as this. He should have done something. There had to have been something he could have done to prevent this, he just knew there had to be.

Sora trudged to the Riku's bed and dropped down into the now cool sheets. He buried his face in Riku's pillow, trying to fight the tears that insisted on coming. It hadn't been long since his friend had left. He could still fell his presence here, smell the scent of his hair in the cotton pillowcase. Physically, Riku was gone but he could still feel him in this room. It only killed Sora that very soon that too would fade altogether.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Roxas came to in darkness. For several moments he was disoriented and confused. The last thing he remembered was a blinding light. He was unsure of what had happened after that but terror set in just the same. Had he finally lost himself. Had he assimilated with Sora completely or was this merely nothingness. Both possibilities frightened Roxas but logic quickly snapped him out of it. He still had his own thoughts. He couldn't say he had ever experienced nothingness, but he doubted that this was what it would feel like.

It was Sora's thoughts that reassured him. He suddenly began to catch snatches of ideas and regrets. He was still with Sora and Sora was thinking of Riku. Riku? Roxas recalled being at the door the night before. Had Riku made it through? Had they? _Sora?_

Roxas was grateful that Sora was introspective enough at the moment to catch his name "Roxas?" Sora lifted his head as if the other boy was standing at the bedside rather than dwelling within him.

_What happened? _Roxas could see now, though his vision was blurred by the tears in Sora's eyes.

"It's Riku." Sora managed weakly "He's gone."

Roxas felt more grief than he should have at that. This only reminded him how little control he really had anymore. His emotions were rarely his own anymore. _You can't go after him?_

Sora took a shaky breath and Roxas felt him relax somewhat "I will…I'll get him back…" Sora sat up. Roxas could feel the newfound confidence within him. He was pleased to find a weight from Sora lifted, even if it was only slightly. "I can find him again, right? I still have the Keyblade. This is just another adventure."

_I guess. _Roxas would have shrugged his shoulders had he been able to.

Sora still wasn't used to speaking with Roxas like this and suddenly appeared quite embarrassed "I guess I overreacted, huh?"

_I couldn't say. _Roxas admitted. _You seem to like Riku a lot. I've never really had anyone like that…well, maybe Namine…_

For a moment Sora's mind seemed to be else where. He frowned in confusion as if something didn't quite add up "Only Namine?"

Roxas suddenly felt very uneasy, unsure of where Sora was taking this even with access to his thoughts. _Yeah, why?_

Sora scratched the bridge of his nose and leaned back against the headboard. They were much too close for such awkwardness and it seemed that choosing his words was becoming progressively more difficult "I mean…I guess I really only took his word on it…but weren't you friends with Axel?"

Sora's question was met only with silence. The name that had just been spoken triggered a million things at once. It was all so overwhelming that Roxas felt himself slipping from Sora's consciousness, deeper in Sora's mind and into his own. _Axel. _He repeated, both shock and familiarity in his tone. He didn't fight fading this time. At least these thoughts were his own.

Roxas's vision dissipated as the name swept around him again. That was it. That was who he had been missing. He searched desperately for details. Bright red hair and even more striking green eyes, it became progressively easier to recall such details. It was the other's smile that Roxas placed most fondly. It wasn't the usual smirk. Roxas remembered a much different smile. The picture in Roxas's mind was so vivid that it almost seemed as if Axel was there before him…and suddenly…he was.

"It's mousse you idiot, it's not supposed to be solid." Roxas said, rolling his eyes at Axel, who was giving particularly suspicious looks to the gelatinous brown material in a bowl. Demyx had made the confection earlier this morning and enlisted Axel to take Roxas his portion when the boy hadn't showed up for dinner.

"I think you're wrong." Axel muttered, extending one hand to give the dessert an experimental poke.

"You can't just touch other people's food!" Roxas pulled away in alarm. "If you want some, go get it."

Axel frowned, pulling his legs up onto Roxas's bed and leaning back against the wall. Curiously, he licked the last bit of mousse from his fingers and looked back over to Roxas with a certainly longing "…It _isn't _bad…"

Roxas shook his head, waiting until he had swallowed to say something more to Axel. "Demyx is a good cook. Hey! I told you to get your own!" He scolded again, backing up to the headboard as Axel reached out for the mousse again. This time he had been a bit more prepared.

"There isn't any left. Come on, Demyx gave his to Xigbar and I gave mine to Demyx because Xigbar gave his to you, so you might as well be eating mine." Axel propped one arm up on his knee as he leaned closer to Roxas.

"…That doesn't make any sense…" Roxas was rather lost with Axel's "logic". "But either get your feet off my bed or take off your shoes."

"I don't see why the others like you." Axel muttered, putting his legs down and allowing them to dangle off the end of the bed "You're not as nice as they seem to think you are." He folded his arms over his chest, green eyes darting to Roxas every now and then to make sure he saw just how crushed he was.

"Fine." Roxas groaned, giving in and moving closer to Axel "But you're not using your fingers!" He snapped, giving Axel a sharp rap with the handle of spoon as the Nobody tried to skim a little more off the top with his index finger. "Here, just a bite." He dipped the spoon into the mousse then held it out to Axel. He felt more than a little awkward as Axel leaned forward, putting his hand to Roxas's to keep him still as he took a bite.

As soon as Axel had released his hand, Roxas pulled the utensil back quickly, trying to finish eating without being interrupted again. He nearly choked when he realized Axel had moved closer, now leaning against the headboard. "Now me." He smirked, indicating that he should have the next bite.

Roxas did his best to feign annoyance as he held the next spoonful up to Axel. "So, the others like me but you don't, huh?" He took another bite for himself then offered the spoon to Axel again.

"Hmm?" Axel was a bit caught off-guard as he swallowed what was in his mouth "Naw, kid." He smirked and ruffled Roxas's hair playfully "You're all right."

"I see how it works." Roxas smirked back, scraping up the last of the mousse and putting to spoon to Axel's lips.

There was amusement in Axel's eyes as he licked the last bit of chocolate from the metal in an almost catlike fashion. "You learn quickly." He said, pulling away and standing to leave.

Roxas was a little sad to see his company leave so soon. He had been rather lonely here. He didn't know the others well enough yet "Can you take this back?" He asked, holding out the empty bowl only to receive a confused look from Axel.

"No." Axel sounded surprised that Roxas had even had to ask "Need anything else?"

"Something that doesn't require you to actually do any work you mean?" Roxas asked, setting the bowl on his nightstand. He resolved to take it to the kitchens in the morning.

"And doesn't require much thought, yes." Axel stretched, cracking his back and yawning "I'm going to b-"

"Do you know who your Other is?" Roxas asked, immediately regretting that question as he saw Axel's expression darkness.

"No, and I don't care to. He has nothing to do with who I am." Axel turned and took several steps for the door before Sora interrupted him again.

"But…he is you…" From what little Roxas had been told about Nothings that was how it worked, wasn't it "We're just shadows…we're a fragment of that person…right? Our emotions are real. They're not even our own." A part of Roxas had hoped that Axel would deny that as vehemently as he had forsaken his Other. Had Roxas had a heart, it would have sank as he watched Axel merely shrug his shoulders and leave the room.

"Maybe so."

Suddenly Roxas was alone again. The world was dark and silent save for sudden patchwork bits of words and emotion.

_"No one would miss me" – "That's not true…I would."_

"_I wanted to see Roxas. He...was the only one I liked... He made me feel...like I had a heart."_

"_Let's meet again in the next life."_

Roxas closed his eyes again, smiling ever so faintly. "Yeah. I'll be waiting."

"_Silly. Just because you have a next life..."_

Roxas's sight came back to him and with his sight the vision of Sora kneeling down beside an Axel who was fading quickly. Tendrils of darkness and shadow ebbed from the man on the ground, almost as if his entire being was unraveling. Roxas heard a weak laugh and could see Axel smiling sadly, even from this distance.

"…_I wanted to see Roxas…"_

It had suddenly become much more difficult for Roxas to breathe. This memory was solid enough. He could feel his own legs and the ground beneath him. He sprinted for Axel but by the time he got there Sora and the others were leaving through a portal nearby. There was nothing left of Axel any longer. Nothing.

"Axel!" Roxas dropped to his knees in the spot where he had seen Axel last. The blonde weeping on the floor made no move to wipe his tears away. He closed his eyes, suddenly seeing everything as both he and Sora had.

Roxas recalled Twilight Town. He remembered the look on Axel's face when he had insisted he didn't remember him. He saw the Axel come to Sora's aide. He saw how he had sacrificed himself for that boy…No…It was Sora he had died for. Roxas immediately knew better than that. Sora made him "feel like he had a heart". This wasn't Sora's fault; it was his own. Axel had done this for him. Roxas was shaking, still crying into his arms. No, it hadn't been that either. Roxas hadn't been there, not really. Axel had died for something as insignificant as the memory of someone who hadn't even remembered him as a friend. He had died for someone who had abandoned him…and someone…who hadn't even been there when he faded back into the nothingness that had always been a part of him.

Roxas couldn't take it. He felt sick and frightened and furious all at once. Yet there was nothing he could do to change any of this "Axel!"

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Sora stood before the door that had started all of this. He had fond memories of this cave but something about it now almost seemed sinister now. Sora sank down to the ground, staring at the barrier there that refused to budge. "…Riku…" He said sadly, looking down to the Keyblade in his right hand. Try as he might, it wouldn't unlock. Maybe he was only ever meant to close the doors and leave them that way.

What if this was it? Sora shook his head quickly, refusing to let himself sink back into the hopeless depression he had experienced earlier. This wasn't the end. He would find a way to open the door and he would find Riku. He would-Sora put a hand to his cheek, suddenly realizing that he seemed to be crying. There was a sudden sadness in his heart that had come with no pretense and seemingly without reason "…Roxas…?"

Pain shot through Sora's body like a jolt of electricity down the spine. He dropped his Keyblade, falling back and onto the cool floor of the cave. Sora cried out and arched his back, digging his fingers into the ground. There was a weight on his chest that wouldn't subside and if it wasn't lifted soon he feared he would be crushed.

It was almost as if his thoughts were no longer his own. Riku was forced from his mind as new memories emerged. His sobbing became fiercer and more desperate as he dropped back to the ground and curled up on his side "Axel!"

It was nearly a full hour later that Roxas had collected himself enough to at least sit up and wipe his eyes. He was initially rather confused to find himself in a cave he vaguely recognized, and able to look around on his own no less. Roxas's eyes settled upon the doorway directly in front of him and all other issues seemed unimportant. The passage was calling to him. Gripping the Keyblade at his side with one hand Roxas stood and held the weapon forward. The cave grew very cold as door swung open.

A/N: There will be more AkuRoku memories to come. Don't worry about that. Keep in mind that I still don't have a beta. This is more of a "for fun" fic. I'm doing the "editing" myself and likely a poor job of it.


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